Last month, as I coasted through the Starbucks drive-thru, I saw this on their menu:
As I pondered this some more, I started to wonder just what Sugar Plums really are. I've heard of them as a child during Christmas, but have I ever seen one or tasted one? Has anyone seen a Sugar Plum tree? I was starting to feel a bit duped since it seemed to be "out of season" when it was first on the menu board - perhaps some kind of mind control going on here?
Looking into this, I saw that even Starbucks might be confused if it is a sugar plum, sugar-plum or a sugarplum. According to the Oxford English Dictionary in 1608, a "sugarplum" was defined as “something very pleasing or agreeable, esp. when given as a sop or bribe.” Ok.....a sop or bribe...(yes, A Tale of the Morgue from 1840 gives context)...the mystery deepened:
But - then I recalled the line “visions of sugar plums danced in their heads” from Clement Clark Moore’s A Visit from Saint Nicholas - dancing just like Justin Bieber!!! This was never something dancing in my head - though, I do wonder about this guy below and just what was being added to Christmas candies:
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| Suspicious dealer of vapes and plums |
Then, dare I say, there's the mysterious Sugar Plum Fairy! Tchaikovsky's first Nutcracker seemed to fall flat - especially with this report from 1906:
....a very inauspicious beginning! I think that St. Nich gave her more than just some smokes (he looks quite smug - like "I just tripped out the Sugar Plum Fairy").
I'm now sure this is all a hoax and this final image is proof that we all should be wary of anything sugar-plummy (be sure to look behind you and never stay in a cabin in the woods)!!!
PS - Happy 14th Anniversary - Museum-H (or is it MuseumH... or Museum H??)
Heuristic: Unnatural (mind-control)
